Large ASW ship Vice Admiral Kulakov is heading for Northern Fleet (NF) test range in the Barents Sea. The crew has passed full training cycle in base and is finishing preparations for long-range cruise to the Gulf of Aden.
Personnel of the ship will perform a number of missile and gun firings, air attack repelling drills with use of antiaircraft missiles, and damage control drills, improve commanding skills, and practice interaction with deck-based helicopters.
During the deployment, crew of Vice Admiral Kulakov will accomplish anti-piracy tasks off the Horn of Africa for the first time. Earlier on, other NF warships used to escort commercial convoys in that region, i.e. nuclear-powered missile cruiser Petr Veliky , large ASW ships Severomorsk , Admiral Chabanenko , and Admiral Levchenko .
In total, NF mariners have escorted 30 international convoys with over 100 Russian and foreign merchant vessels, prevented capturing of cargo ship Ocean Diamond and tanker United Emblem attacked by pirates in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , March 29, 2012;